Wednesday, October 30, 2013

PhotoPlusExpo and Branding yourself

My Daughter in a candy store!
I remember watching closely as my children entered the CANDY STORE in New York (Economy Candy). Their eyes lit up and wanted to show me everything! They were SO EXCITED! Living in Asia for 17 years really secluded us from opportunities like this. 

I had that SAME feeling walking into the PhotoPlusExpo in New York this past week. It felt like a HUGE Costco lined up with TECHY stuff. A GEAR HEAD dream if you will. Venders giving away free things just to reel you in. I LOVED it, but at the same time my heart was torn...do I really need all this crap?

For a few, the reason of attending PhotoPlusExpo is not just for seeing new products, but to attend something that could be life changing. They offered Portfolio Reviews by Palm Springs Photo Festival. Some of you are wondering what is a "Portfolio Review"? A portfolio review is a place where you get to present your work to Magazine Art Directors, Galleries, Advertising Agencies, Reps and more.  Yes, it's a great place to get feedback on your own work yet get jobs and build what we say in China called "Guanxi" meaning connections.

During my time at the School of Visual Arts where I got my Masters of Professional Studies, we prepared well
for events like this. Not only building a strong body of work, but in communicating with these influential individuals. Portfolio Reviews can be another few posts in itself, but today I just wanted to touch on a very import aspect of being a professional photographer. It's selling yourself, a.k.a branding yourself. 

Branding: Have you ever thought about branding yourself for the day that you would like to put your photos up on the web on YOUR PERSONAL DOMAIN to show the world? I just returned back from New York, where a very successful photographer had donated all this used portfolio's to SVA Masters of Professional Studies Digital Photography program.  I'm not talking just a few, I'm talking over 40+ different kinds of portfolio cases.  When I asked my buddy Randhy Rodriguez why he was donating them, he replied that in this day and age it's mostly digital.  So having a website is foundational to selling yourself as a serious photographer.  

[ ]So my question to you is, have you thought about branding yourself as a photographer? There are those who put "PHOTOGRAPHER" on bios, and then there are those who have their own images on their own sights. Have you sought to find out if your DOMAIN NAME is open for purchase? You can check by going to GoDaddy and checking to see if your desired name is available. Even if you think you may never use it.  Trust me.  You'll want to grab it now for $12-$15 a year.

I currently own both www.ShellyAu.com and www.ShellyAuPhotography.com. I even purchased a domain for one of my bodies of work called www.twobeautifuldaughers.com.  

Below are my branding materials:







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